"Lost in the Forest"

I had never intended this blog to become a chronicle about the theories and practices of graduate studies. It is meant to be a journal about going back to school at age 65. An experience of learning. An adventure to bring renewal to my journey as an artist. Not far from here is a place called Cathedral Forest. During the winter, when there are no tourists, it’s a solitary place, a retreat into the mysteries of stately old-growth trees. Giants of fir, cedar and hemlock, who have stood there for well near a thousand years.
Venturing off the path is an adventure in itself. Soon I am surrounded by mossy-green darkness, a silent canopy far above. Even snow cannot penetrate this sanctuary. The ground is choked with nurse-logs, fallen timbers, twisted branches, fledgling trees trying to survive, and decades of decaying forest floor. I am lost in the forest. But, I know the trail is back there somewhere towards the rising sun in the East. Time to regroup, re-assess, get my bearings. There’s an oxygen-enriched air in this grove that is intoxicating. Do I really want to leave? But, I will find my path again, and I know that if I continue in the right direction, I will reach the goals I have set.

“Keeping the human touch”

I came across the line “keeping the human touch” in my graduate readings of Christine Grosse ( Business Communications Quarterly, 2002 ). It reminds me of one of my weekly highlites, when I catch the first ferry off Gabriola Island (5:25 am), to start the week with drawing coffeeshop people at Tim Hortons. It takes me about 2 hrs to do 3 pages, and some 8 months to fill a sketchbook. I’m 400 pages into Volume 16. That’s a lot of people. Sometimes drawing becomes an engaging conversation with someone. That’s a big reminder that life is about “keeping the human touch.” Then it’s off to Starbucks to begin more readings for the week. Being an at-home studio artist and student, I need the break, right? A fellow cohort member gave me a custom-made Tshirt that says “get your own metatheory.” It was a running joke between the two of us. A savoury moment of human fellowship amidst the rigours of academic study. I had bought him and “official” university coffee mug to concede the contest. He’d won with the puns and ironies. Life can be good especially when you touch someone – for real.

A case of GMOD

Amidst courses called COMM (Communication)and a graduate degree program called MACT (Master of Arts in Communication and Technology)and all sorts of hi-tech prefixes that consume my expanding vocabulary, I have found time to enjoy a case of GMOD (Grand-Munchkins Over Drive)in Kelowna. I had finished studying about external environments and uncertainty reduction in organizational domains, when I realized I was right in the middle of one with the uncertainty of a distinct possibility of more severe winter weather on two high mountain highways back towards the coast on Wednesday. I'm counting on the memories of an external environment aka 3 adorable grandchildren to carry me through the snow back to our island home. Amazing that I can check road conditions via DriveBC's many highway cams. The images sometimes are foreboding but other times assuring there's a reasonable way to get through. I love distance driving, but through BC's mountains, it's another world, especially when the winter sun shines. But, then it's back to mt computer and a case of COMM /MACT.

“Thinking visually and prototypically”

An inside look at my process. I think visually. I process graduate studies visually, from doodling on a page, mapping an idea, structurally fitting the part, to penning “to do” lists. I was trained to think that way, combined with a natural inclination towards visual thought. It is my process of fine art drawing ( of course with lots of room for spontaneity and conceptual impulses ).

The process fared me well during my years in the advertising industry and still fares me well in all project management from creating artwork to exhibitions, media, publicity, and graduate studies. My “back to school” journey is beginning to take a much sharper focus in the form of a project portfolio and a final applied research project. Most of my computer work in research is textual. It’s not easy to keep “the large picture” in view, so I create visual maps.

My entries are organized and each document is recorded in the appropriate course folder with duplicates copied to other folders. I keep one massive folder called “research library.” It’s a lot of information, but I can “see” enough to be able to find it when I need it. Sometimes it’s very intimidating and I am overwhelmed by the amount of information I have gathered.

To take my visual thinking another step, I decided to create a prototype of the final research project in the form of a website. When the time is right, I will transfer applicable content from the prototype to the website and direct its “traffic” to the actual applied research project itself. And yes, I have called the project portfolio BIG MACT complete with a picture of a big juicy hamburger. MACT is the acronym for my graduate program. Thinking visually or prototypically is like architecture ( whether online or in real time ). I have a visual idea what the whole thing ( research project ) should look like, but the time is now to examine each component carefully and build a sustainable structure ( context ) based on all the courses towards a satisfactory end result. At least that’s the plan, or should I say “the drawing?”
The picture I took is one of a gale force wind blowing on our island shores yesterday.

“Virtual Teams”

It’s definitely a new age for me, that is, learning to adapt to team work and technology. A team of five of us just completed an assignment that spanned across three time zones, from as far east as Nova Scotia to a small western Pacific gulf island in British Columbia. No one had been assigned “captain,” so it was pretty much left to all of us to push forward by online discourse and consensus. A valuable lesson in the art of collaborative learning. Like this blog of mine. Its intent is not to advance theoretical or applied knowledge. Its intent is to demonstrate the reality of the learning journey. Many who read this blog belong to that “virtual team out there, somewhere”. Some, such as my collaborative team, I know as newfound friends in real time. But the journey is the same whether virtual or real time. The “e” in eClass is not only for education, or electronic. It’s also for encouragement.

“The therapy of music”

Imagine me in my studio. It’s big with tall ceilings and two skylights. It’s my sanctuary. When the pressures of eClass and online research press too hard, I retreat to my studio and work on a drawing. But, first things first. I fill the space with my favourite music. Iona, a celtic band from Britain. A full atmospheric sound. It’s therapy. I know, not everyone has a studio, but there’s always that “other studio,” that mobile place of retreat aka van or car or for some the iPod. That’s why I love distance driving. Just me and my music. Ah, feelin’ better already!

“Talking in a winter wonder land”

This week I start two new courses. “Organizational Communications,” and “Applied Research in Communications.” Even though we had a beautiful dusting of snow on our island ( the first snow of the winter ), I need not be concerned about “walking in a winter wonder land” to get to the university. I can “talk” my way through the technology of online discussions via eClass. It’s quite remarkable that at my age this new technology is not in the least intimidating. In fact, my greater challenge is to know when I’ve said enough online, because no one interrupts me while I compose my online discussion postings, except for live chat sessions when common courtesy demands we all take proper turns. Talking is in fact the most natural thing to do and it is the essential ingredient of effective communications. Talking is natural. Listening is an acquired skill. Informed leadership does both. Ps. That's our island family home and my studio is on right side of the house, at the top of the driveway.